Fort Myers veteran, trainer inspires people with disabilities to get fit

One Army veteran and fitness trainer in Fort Myers is inspiring people with disabilities to get active and accomplish physical feats they didn’t think possible.

Rich Kline leads adaptive fitness classes every Wednesday beginning at 1 p.m. at Around the Clock Fitness off of Boy Scout Drive. The hour-long fitness session is free and designed for people who have to work out differently due to physical or mental disability.

“We have amputees, quadriplegics, people that are blind, spinal cord injuries, people with Lupus come out,” Kline said. “It’s very inspiring, a true testimony to the human spirit to watch these athletes move and work out.”

Navy Veteran Troy Conquest is a regular attendee and said coming to the classes allows him to continue to be an athlete even after being paralyzed from the waist down 25 years ago when he was told he would never walk again.

“We’re doing something we were told we weren’t able to do,” Conquest said. “We just keep providing every time we come here…that we have no limits.”

Bob Henshaw is also turning ‘impossible’ goals into ‘attainable’ accomplishments with Kline’s help. Henshaw was told he would be bed-ridden after breaking his neck, but at Kline’s classes, he abandons his wheelchair and continues to challenge himself to lift more weight.

“Watching Bob go from not being able to stand-up to deadlifting 100 pounds 15 times is amazing,” Kline said.

Special Olympics athlete Amanda McGowan said she sees herself getting faster and stronger as she continues working with Kline and others in the class.

“I like working with Rich, he’s fun,” McGowan said.

If you or someone you know is interested in participating in the adaptive fitness classes at Around the Clock Fitness, Kline encourages you to call their Boy Scout Drive location at 239-931-6664 and ask for Rich Kline.